Gaming has been a bit thin on the ground recently, and I haven't had the chance to put anything on the blog- life getting in the way of all the important stuff! That was until very recently when I managed to get a few in (Reports to follow!). Additionally, with a few spare days and an itch that needed to be scratched, I had always wanted to have a crack at what I always felt was Marlborough's most unusual battle: Oudenarde July 11 1708.
It was unusual in that it was not a planned battle and involved a river crossing ( in two places!) as the French Commander, Vendome, scrambled to deal with Marlborough and Eugene's crossing and the battle that unfolded was a fascinating tactical situation.
How to do it on the table?
With both armies consisting of over 90 battalions each and 130 squadrons, I had nowhere near that- and most of my OOB was for other battles. Undaunted I decided to give it a go. I figured that I could do a 3:1 ration for the infantry and 4:1 for the cavalry- about 25-30 battalions a side and 30+ squadrons a side. The proportion wasn't quite correct but I was using everything suitable that I had. So it was a 'bathtubbing' exercise which reflected some of the tactical nuances of the battle but not really a recreation of it.
Terrain was essential so I decided to scratch build it. I needed to represent the Scheldt river and the town of Oudenarde where the Allied army crossed over and the heights above the town that were fought over by the armies on the day.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJ4WjItzNNHgMGuWe5V3jkUUmJDnnEO1PC0gbm4qRHQ0EwBaPTBgLKQY7LwYjY7N4k3LSQwinCp0FNeqK4aVdSW4ImybryiNmjBWzOQ4Spke4r0zC8wTjtCLcu6QmnIU1MkZGrG0S-HWFlmv2IXdzmWo7iE4gUKZUVUpzyDMppAd6TcD-Od-RGNrU8ts/w300-h400/IMG_7987%202.HEIC) |
My go to book for this one! |